Rasagna, et al. Int J Pharm 2012; 2(3): 542-547 ISSN 2249-1848 International Journal of Pharmacy Journal Homepage: http://www.pharmascholars.com Review Article CODEN: IJPNL6 PHYTOCHEMISTY AND PHARMACOLOGY OF BRYONIA LACINOSA: A REVIEW *Rasagna Yadavalli, Venu Gopal Y and S.A. Sreenivas Department of Pharmacology, Guru Nanak Institute of Pharmacy, Ibrahimpatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India *Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Many herbal remidies have been employed in various medical systems for treatment and management of different diseases. The plant Bryonia lacinosa has been used in different system of traditional medication for the treatment of diseases and ailments of human beings. Goniothalamin, punicic acid and lipids were previously isolated from the whole plant of Bryonia laciniosa. From leaves a bitter principle, bryonin, has been reported. Arabinoglucomannan, a polysaccharide is present in the fruit which is mainly used for anti-microbial activity. It has been reported that the plant contains anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticonvulsant, anti microbial and cytotoxic properties. The current study is therefore reviewed to provide requisite phytochemical and pharmacological detail about the plant. Keywords: Bryonia lacinosa, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Medicinal plants INTRODUCTION usefulness. The traditional Indian medicinal system mentions herbal remedies for the treatment of variety There exists a plethora of knowledge and information of diseases. and benefits of herbal drugs in our ancient literature of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine. One of the earliest The ayurveda has emphasized importance of food in treatises of Indian medicine, the Charaka Samhita the management of diseases. Even practitioner of (1000 B.C.) mentions the use of over 2000 herbs for modern system has realized the significance of medicinal purpose.[1] According to the WHO survey dietary items, in the form of nutraceutical elements, 80% of the populations living in the developing in the treatment of chronic diseases.[5] Bryonia countries rely almost exclusively on traditional lacinosa (Family: Cucurbitaceae) is a well known in medicine for their primary health care needs.[2] Plants India and is one of the most versatile medicinal plants continue to serve as possible sources for new drugs having a wide spectrum of biological activity. and chemicals derived from various parts of plants.[3] It is commonly known as Shivlingi, an excellent plant Exploration of the chemical constituents of the plants in the nature having composition of all the essential and pharmacological screening may provide us the constituents that are required for normal and good basis for developing the leads for development of health of humans. This plant is a shrub found wildly novel agents. In addition, herbs have provided us in India, Philippines and some parts of Africa. Whole some of the very important life saving drugs used in plant is used to treat adenopathy, ague, asthma, the armamentarium of modern medicine.[4] There is a bronchitis, carbuncles, cholera, colic, consumption, worldwide belief that herbal remedies are safer and convulsions, cough, delirium, fertility, headache, less damaging to the human body than synthetic megalospleny, paralysis, phthisis, snake bite.[6] drugs. Therefore laboratories around the world are Traditional healers use the leaves and the seeds of engaged in screening of plants for biological this plant for treatment of fevers. It is also taken in activities with therapeutics potential. One major impotency and used as a tonic. The leaf extract of this criterion for the selection of plant for such a study is plant is also used as a cathartic and in traditional healer’s claim for its therapeutics inflammation.[7] www.pharmascholars.com 542 Rasagna, et al. Int J Pharm 2012; 2(3): 542-547 ISSN 2249-1848 The present review is dealing with medicinal ETHNOBOTONY importance of the Bryonia lacinosa with reference to its Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry and The plant holds an important role in tribal culture and pharmacological activities. rituals and also used in many herbal medicinal practices. It is commonly known as ‘Shivlingi’ and TAXONOMIC CLASSIFICATION [8] ‘Gargumaru in India, an annual climber with bright Domain : Eukaryota red fruits [Figure 3] and is reported to be highly Kingdom : Plantae medicinal. Locally in India its seeds are being used Subkingdom : Viridaeplantae for promoting conception in women.[10] Gond and Phylum : Tracheophyta Bharia tribes of Patalkot valley worship this plant. Subphylum : Euphyllophytina According to them, this herb is boon for the childless Infraphylum : Radiatopses parents. Class : Magnoliopsida Subclass : Rosidae The herbal healers (Bhumkas) prepare certain Superorder : Violanae combination of herb and prescribe it to the needed Order : Cucurbitales person. Interestingly, Bhumkas in Harra-Ka-Chhar Family : Cucurbitaceae village in Patalkot prescribe the seeds of this herb for Subfamily : Cucurbitoideae conceiving male babies. In Gaildubba, traditional Tribe : Benincaseae healers make a combination of Shivlingi seeds with Genus : Bryonia Tulsi (Ocimum basilicum) leaves and mix it in Species : laciniosa - L. Jaggery (the traditional unrefined sugar used in India) Botanical name :Bryonia laciniosa L and give it to the lady who is not conceiving baby due to any reason. Shivlingi is a twinner and can be BOTANICAL DISCRIPTION AND VERNACULAR NAMES well identified by its flower/ fruits/ seeds. The foul [9] and just different sort of smell of the plant is also a Bryonia lacinosa is one of the most valuable drug in way of identifying it. [11] traditional system of medicine from ancient time. Other synonym of Bryonia lacinosa is Bryonopsis PHYTOCHEMISTY laciniosa. The genus Bryonia also contains 6 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars like B. Bryonia lacinosa is being used as trivial medicine alba (White Bryony) · B. aspera (Turkish since long in India, but no work has been done except Bryony) · B. cretica (Cret Bryony) · B. cretica few fatty acids and sugars are reported to be present dioica (Cretan Bryony) · B. dioica dioica (Cretan in the Seeds.[12] Due to tremendous medicinal Bryony) · B. verrucosa(Venenillo). importance of the seeds, the seed mucilage from B. lacinosa was subjected to phytochemical MORPHOLOGY investigation.[10] The different successive extracts so obtained were subjected to preliminary Stem is much branched, slender, grooved, Glabrous. phytochemical screening by applying different Tendrils are Slender, striate, glabrous. Leaves are qualitative testes for phytoconstituents. The different Membraneous, 10-15 cm long and broad, green and extracts of Bryonia lacinosa contained, punicic acid, scabrid above, paler and smooth or nearly so beneath. lipids, Bryonin, polysaccharides like Goniothalamin, Deeply cordate at base. 5 lobed, the lobes are oblong, Glucomannan and Arabinoglucomannan lanceolate, midrib sometimes subserrate. Petioles are 2.5-7.5 cm long, striate, slender. Male Flowers are Glucomannan: Extraction of defatted and with small fascicles of 3-6, penduncle 5-20 mm long, decolorized seeds of Bryonia lacinosa with 1% filiform, glabrous [Figure 1]. aqueous acetic acid yielded a polysaccharide material, having D-glucose and D-mannose in the Calyx is glabrous, 205 mm long, teeth subulate. molar ratio of 1.00:1.01[Figure 4]. Hydrolysis of the Corolla is 3-4 mm long, segments ovate, oblong, fully methylated seed gum furnished 2,3,4,6-tetra-O- acute, pubescent and Female-Solitary or few, or methyl-D-glucose and 2,3-di-O-methyl-D-mannose many peduncles and shorter than male. Fruits are in equimolar ratio. Partial hydrolysis of the Subsessile, 1.3 - 205 cm in diameter, globose, polysaccharide furnished three oligosaccharides smooth, bluish green, streaked with broad vertical namely; epigentiobiose, mannobiose, and lines and having seeds with 5-6 mm long, yellowish mannotriose along with the component [8] brown [Figure 2]. monosaccharides.[10] www.pharmascholars.com 543 Rasagna, et al. Int J Pharm 2012; 2(3): 542-547 ISSN 2249-1848 Goniothalamin: Goniothalamin, a natural occurring of gram-negative bacteria like Escherichia coli , styryl-lactone [Figure 5], is a novel compound Salmonella typhimurium , and Pseudomonas present in the whole plant of Bryonia lacinosa with aeruginosa and three strains of gram-positive putative anticancer activities. [13] Ashik Mosaddik M bacteria, Bacillus cerues, Staphylococcus aureus and et al., reported the presence of goniothalamin in Micrococcus luteus. The ethanolic extract of leaves Bryonia lacinosa. They extracted the whole plant and stem showed direct antimicrobial activity against powder (750 g) with methanol in a Soxhlet apparatus. all tested microorganism with minimum inhibitory The MeOH extract was subjected to fractionation concentration ranging between 0.625 to 10 mg/ml with petroleum ether (50 ml), chloroform (50 ml) and and 0.156 to 5 mg/ml, respectively which reveals that ethyl acetate (40 ml) successively. From the ethyl the leaves shows more antimicrobial action than the acetate fraction goniothalamin (58 mg) was isolated stem. [6] by washing with diethyl ether followed by recrystallization. [14] Anti inflammatory activity: Gupta M et al.,(2003) evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of the Arabinoglucomannan: It is a polysaccharide chloroform extract of leaves of Bryonia material, having d-glucose, d-mannose and l- laciniosa(CEBL) using carrageenan, dextran, arabinose in the molar ratio of. 5.00:3.01:4.00. It is histamine, serotonin